I didn't realize how much a whammy bar affected things.

[Gruupi]

I debated long and hard on whether to put a vibrato on my Warmoth Les Paul. I ended up with the Wilkerson because of the adjustabilty and I loved it on my Carvin. I have never been quite happy with it on the Les Paul though. My hand was always on the bridge and bumping into the bar. On a Strat style my hand is out over the strings more so it didn't matter.

 

I wedged a little block of wood in there this morning. I immediately loved the difference. The tone is more focused, and bending strings has a more direct feel. I get to go back to my original hand position when I started playing guitar on a Les Paul copy with my hand resting on the bridge. I can mute strings again.

 

I love whammy bar stuff and still have my Carvin, plus I can take the block out and put the whammy back on the Warmoth in 2 minutes. I'm just amazed how this tiny little change affects things.

[Guitarzan]

that is a sweet trem. i had one on my Pac 812w.

one of the best floating trems for palm muting imho.

not immune to string bends though.

[mdrs]

I play my electrics pretty hard. Consequently, I've just never been much of a trem guy. I have a trem on a couple of Strats, and that's it. I will not even buy a guitar with a trem on it. I know you can block them....the ones I have with trems are blocked. I just like a hardtail's feel, and the way they behave.

 

I don't have anything against trems....they are just not for me.

[Dr. Ellwood]

I play my electrics pretty hard. Consequently, I've just never been much of a trem guy. I have a trem on a couple of Strats, and that's it. I will not even buy a guitar with a trem on it. I know you can block them....the ones I have with trems are blocked. I just like a hardtail's feel, and the way they behave.

 

I don't have anything against trems....they are just not for me.

 

[Hardtail]

I don't have anything against trems

 

I do! They suck! They're evil! LOL!

[MILLO]

ellwood, mdrs:

 

You guys all your strats blocked? Do you ever use the trem? Do you DEFINITELY prefer the tone of a hardtail, or just the feel?

[GovernorSilver]

If I had a Les Paul, I'd probably had gone for a Stetsbar instead - no drilling or routing required - but only after speaking to them on the phone (email response isn't that quick):

 

http://www.stetsbar.com/

 

 

[Gruupi]

Well, I really liked the Wilkerson on the Carvin, it works great. But on the Warmoth Les Paul, it just didn't work as good. The hand position is a big factor, I was always bumping into the bar. I never got it to play in tune as well as the Carvin either.

 

So blocking it off is no big deal, it wouldn't take any time to take the block back out. I thought about one of the tremlocks that let you flp a switch, just was a bit lazy in searching that out. I still like the adjustability of the Wilkerson. Considering I was building the guitar I wanted some freedom to set the radius and have some extra room for intonation. That was the final decision maker. I didn't want to have to file down bridge saddles on a stud tailpiece to match the compound neck radius.

[mdrs]

ellwood, mdrs:

 

You guys all your strats blocked? Do you ever use the trem? Do you DEFINITELY prefer the tone of a hardtail, or just the feel?

 

Milo....The only guitars I have with a Trem is an old Jackson (made in the original San Dimas plant) which has an original Floyd Rose on it. I FRIGGIN HATE THAT TREM!! It works well, in fact it's functionality is excellent. But I can't stand how much time and effort it takes to keep it "running". Heck, just changing strings....not my favorite thing to do anyway...becomes a major engineering project!! It's just not my cup of tea. The Jackson is a GREAT guitar. But, it doesn't get played a lot.

 

I have several Strats. One is a very old hardtail, which may be my finest axe. I have four others.....all of them have the standard fender trem of what ever era they were built.

 

All of the four have FIVE SPRINGS on the trem. This makes it ALMOST impossible to move the trem!! And, that's the way I like it.

 

I play pretty hard with my picking hand. When you hit strings hard, it will make the typical trem "give", thus pulling the guitar momentarily out of tune. I can hear this, and don't like it. I am a stickler for a guitar being in tune. This is especially a thing for me with chords. I hate hearing the sound of the trem "giving". I like to be able to hit a chord hard, and hear the guitar play back at me in tune. Rock steady!!

 

I do feel that a hard tail gives a guitar a steadier, and firmer feel to it as well. It's very subjective, but I really like a hard tail.

 

With the exception of certain vintage pieces, I don't buy any guitars anymore with Trems on them.

 

If I could play a trem like Eddie Van, I supposed I'd be more accepting of a trem. But, I've never used a trem all that much.

 

BTW...I can and do use the trem in a very subtle way, even on my "5 spring" Strats....you just have to hit the trem arm HARD!!

 

:rawk:

[Dr. Ellwood]

Slide the block behind those five springs and you'll be all set Doc!!!

[Gifthorse]

I like those G & L trems. The one on my friends Musicman Axis is nice too. They are low profile, more fenderish but they are smoother feeling. I didn't really have any tuning problems.

 

The thing is, using a tremelo bar is just another art. You know like using the wah. So many schools of thought. I tend to like the way Hendrix and Van Halen use it more than say Vai or Satch.

 

Just cuz it is more spontaneous sounding to my ears. Also floating bridges sound different. Eddie's was set all the way back with heavy tension on the springs. This supposedly adds some tone.

 

I like tremelo bars, but they are like an effect. Vibrato is like that too. Something to add contrast.

 

I have heard it is kind of tough to install a tremelo in a Les Paul. Whatever, obviously I am wrong.

[Guitarzan]

i love Floyds.

nothing like being able to yank and bend strings and have them stay in tune. i like mine setting on the body ala EVH, but alas the Pacer custom is rear routed so i can't do it.

i have a fairly heavy right hand ( HellBoyd ) :grin:

and the action of a floating trem is a tad too easy to manipulate.

i tend to get guitarded when i hold the bar too long, so i don't use one too much.

[mdrs]

Slide the block behind those five springs and you'll be all set Doc!!!

 

:grin:

[Gifthorse]

Guitarded--nice (keeper). In my metal years I always had a floating bridge. I just don't like them for rythm.

 

 

[Michael Patrick]

I used to do more whammy stuff, and more in the vein of Jimi rather than Eddie. But now I don't even bother to attach the arm on my Strats, and on one of 'em I've got the tailpiece up against the body so it doesn't move.

 

Maybe it just means I'm getting old...

[Big Red 67]

I like the wilkerson allot! I wouldn't put one on a Paul though. I like the LP with the stock bridge. I run two or three springs. Depends on the guitar! And yes the floyd is a true B!tch!!! to setup. Really fun once they are setup.

[GovernorSilver]

The most unique trem I've owned is the Transtrem on my Steinberger GM7TA. The downside is it's been a bit frustrating though learning how to use it in the way it was intended - transposing from standard low E tuning to other keys. I missed a critical step in the directions to set up the Transtrem and spent nearly 2 hours tuning the thing up in F# then down in C, back and forth, before I finally got the guitar to be equally in tune in both keys.

 

The good thing is that it really does stay in tune going down to C and I can pretend I have a baritone guitar down there. When you transpose, you cannot whammy anymore, but I think its a fair tradeoff. The range is reportedly a little less than a Floyd's but definitely greater than vintage-style trems and it seems to stay in tune after some string bending.

[Hardtail]

I used to do more whammy stuff, and more in the vein of Jimi rather than Eddie. But now I don't even bother to attach the arm on my Strats, and on one of 'em I've got the tailpiece up against the body so it doesn't move.

 

Maybe it just means I'm getting old...

 

I guess the older you get, the less you want to play with your wiggle-stick.

[Griffinator]

I guess the older you get, the less you want to play with your wiggle-stick.

 

I dunno. Watching those Trower vids on Sunday, I'm not so sure. Maybe Robin's just grateful his wiggle-stick still works, at his age?

[GovernorSilver]

I think Jeff Beck still uses his trem regularly. I saw Santana actually use the trem on one or two of his PRS guitars, same with Di Meola. Holdsworth went hardtail for a while, and is now playing his trem-equipped Delap again.